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Serious Health Condition
Practical Law Glossary Item 7-504-3072 (Approx. 4 pages)
Glossary
Serious Health Condition
As defined under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves any of the following:
- An overnight stay in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility or any further treatment in connection with that inpatient care.
- Any period of incapacity, including an inability to work or to perform regular daily activities, for more than three consecutive, full calendar days and any later treatment or incapacity required or caused by the same condition that also involves either:
- two treatments (an in-person visit to a health care provider), with the first treatment occurring within seven days of the first day of incapacity; or
- one treatment by a health care provider who prescribes continuing treatment.
- Periodic incapacity because of a pregnancy, including:
- morning sickness; or
- prenatal care.
- Chronic conditions, such as migraines, depression, or diabetes, that:
- require at least two visits per year to a health care provider for treatment;
- continue over an extended period; and
- cause episodic incapacity.
- Permanent or long-term incapacity due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective, such as Alzheimer's disease, severe stroke, or terminal stages of a disease.
- Conditions that require absence to receive multiple treatments for:
- restorative surgery after an accident or injury; or
- a condition that, without medical intervention or treatment, would most likely cause incapacity for more than three consecutive calendar days, such as cancer, severe arthritis, or kidney disease.
(29 C.F.R. §§ 825.113 to 825.115.)